8/22/2007

Annuity Plan gets clearer

Annuity Plan gets clearer As the picture unfolds, we are getting glimpses of what this plan will look like. For one, I like the idea that it is to provide a 'subsistence level' of income until death. Not like the $120k minimum sum, a value that probably 70% of the people will never dream of having. And while the govt has been quite generous in giving an additional dollar to those under govt assistance scheme, lets hope the govt will not be overly generous when using the people's money to provide for themselves.
Hey, let me remind the govt again that it is the people's money. Not the govt's. I think this message has not gotten across. They are not going to take the risk of allowing the people to squander their money away. Why can't the people squander away their own money?
The next point that I like is that the govt will now have to 'sell' the scheme to Singaporeans. Do they need to? It is a compulsory scheme for the good of the people. Or does it matter if the people don't buy it? Actually, anything that has to become compulsory is a failure of a sort. It means that it is not something that people see a need for it.
Now the small amount to be paid to the annuity? Would it be $30 or $300?

Bullshit!!If that was the case, we would have seen a mass exodus to those countries long ago, and the govt would have been forced to institute measures to stem the tide. The fact is most Singaporeans dont have the guts to step out of their little cocoon. Want to stay in Singapore, better accept the way things are done.

let me see what i wrote. hmmm, it is better to do our own planning, and when the time comes, not all are affected,....

the option to make your own plans belongs to those who have the resources. this option is available only to the babyboomers and those that come later.

the babyboomers are just hitting the 60s. and there are 3 groups here. those already bought retirement houses overseas. this group has the option to move in and out. the world their oyster.

the next group will be those that cannot to anything. mostly the hardlanders. hardly anything in minimum sum and may not even have a flat or just a 2/3 rm flat.

there is the in between group that may exercise this option. this is the group that is not too rich and not too poor. maybe asset rich and cpf rich but all the value strapped up in their flats and minimum sum. the only time that they can feel rich is when they die. and they will all die very rich. many will not live to enjoy their hard earned money.

the option of liquidating everything is very attractive to this group.

You cannot liquidate all of your cpf unless you give up your citizenship. Last I looked, it is not easy or next to impossible for the average ah pek or ah soh to become citizens of Chinea, India or Malaysia, much less US, UK , or Canada.

a singaporean may have a 5 rm flat and $120k in the cpf. but he may have little liquidity to use and feel very poor. all his savings is either in the flat or in cpf. so he may have to stinge and pinch to get by.

but if he can realise all this money from his flat and take out his cpf as well, he can feel very rich, and richer in countries like china and india. i am sure he will be able to find himself welcome in these countries with that kind of money.

a singaporean may have a 5 rm flat and $120k in the cpf. but he may have little liquidity to use and feel very poor. all his savings is either in the flat or in cpf. so he may have to stinge and pinch to get by.

An assumming singaporean once told me i shud spend my money to buy condo. to people like him, everybody must follow and behave like his type, spend money keep for what. the moment they have some money, they buy rolexes and upgrade their cars. that's why after working 40 years all that is left for them are just the compulsory contributions which pays for the 5 rm flat.

There maybe millionaire neighbours next door living frugal lives and by their conspicious lifestyle escaped your definition of what typical singaporeans really are or have in their bank accounts.

There is a danger of assuming that one man's meat must also be another's meat. It is a subtle bias that everyone denies it, but in fact many of them are doing that. Hence if i have a 5 rm flat and not much in my savings, i cannot assume most people are like me.

everyone will have to look at what is best for himself. and there is a whole range of options available. not everyone will think alike. some may want to find a little island in the pacific ocean. some may want to retire in a monastry somewhere in tibet or thailand.

as for india and china, they will not mind a few oldies with a few hundred thousand dollars of hardcash to park around for a while. they have nothing to lose.

I have no funds in the Ordinary Account. My Special Accounts funds are invested in single premium which I will not see till I'm 62.

Here lies the trick.

If u really do not want to see your hard earned $$ sucked away by PAP, use it all to pay your housing loan. Max the whole damn instalment that u have to pay to the mortgagee bank.

Leave them nothing.

PAP treats us citizens worse than foreigners. We the citizens bear the brunt of sacrificing our life and time to protect these elites but when we reach the end of our economic usefulness, instead of helping us, we are treated like dirt.

They give us little, but take alot from us and still impose ridiculous restrictions on how we can use our hard earned resources, giving silly excuses that just because some of us do not know how to utilise our savings, all of us are assumed to be the same.

Yet they are blinded to the fact that most of our meager resources are utilised to pay for the high prices they and their cronies GLCs have set for housing, transportation, education, utilities and everyday foodstuff. Unless we are super earners like the ministers, how much savings can we really have?

Just because we are living longer, it does not mean we are going to be employed longer. They have obviously not learnt about the anguish of those aged 30 and above who were retrenched during the last recession. Most of them couldn't even get an interview because of their age, much less getting a job despite their willingness to get a lower pay!

They may raise the statutory retirement age but will employers give hoots about it? They think we are stupid to believe the propaganda that came with the last Saturday papers where older workers were featured happily employed. These may be happier times but when the shit hits again, I believe most employers will not be so benevolent in view of declining profitability.

No Mr PAPPIES, changing the age which workers should retire is not the solution. When you have a soft union, weak ineffective labour laws that are discriminating to workers and basically a legislature that has no bite, you elites are only kidding yourselves.

The whole mindset needs to be changed. Protect the good older workers against unscrupulous employers, take the lead in employing older workers, lower their cost of living, impose a minimum wage for them, give generous tax breaks to the children who are taking care of them etc.

In short make them self sufficient instead of treating them like useless unintelligent human beings. Nobody likes their possession to be detained and dictated in how to use them.

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